Gone
by Cassidy-Leah-Radford
Summary: When Emily and Matthew are ripped from their reality and plonked into another things aren't all tea parties and friendly conversations. The magical world is strange and full of promise but gets real, fast. To top it off they're part of a prophecy written a really long time ago and Malistaire doesn't particularly like them. They've also managed to drag Emily's best friend into it
1. Prologue

"Matthew? Aren't the stars pretty?" Emily gasped as she saw one streak across the sky.

"I think they're beautiful." Matthew wasn't even really paying attention. He was too busy staring at Mackenzie.

"What about you Mackenzie?" Mackenzie was tracing the constellations she recognized.

"Very pretty Emily."

"I think they're magic." Emily turned to them. Mackenzie ignored her.

"Can we go back inside now? I'm cold." Mackenzie shivered. Matthew held up his jacket for her.

"Here you go Mackenzie! Take my jacket. I'm not cold," Mackenzie shook her head and frowned.

"I can't. It's a _boys_ jacket." Matthew stuck out his tongue at her.

"Oh shush you two. Mommy says that arguing never does anyone any good. Let's get to the tent then." Emily got up and the two of them followed her. _I think they're magic Emily. You're right._ Emily smiled.

"Thank you Lila." She held Lila's hand all the way to the tent; except for one simple fact.

There were only three people there.

* * *

"Momma doesn't love you anymore papa."

"Don't be ridiculous Mackenzie. Of course she does!" Mackenzie was trying to make him listen but he wouldn't even look at her.

"No she doesn't. She's leaving for Africa in the morning. And she's gonna marry a new daddy!" Her father gathered up his briefcase.

"Fine; if you say so honey. Now go along to bed." He kissed her forehead and shuffled her along to bed. She knew they were going to fight now. They always did. She had a dream about it last night and her dreams usually came true.

She heard the shouting next door. The sounds were muffled but not enough. There was a crash. _The lamp daddy got her for Christmas._

"Frank that lamp cost a lot of money!"

"I don't care Marie. What's this about you going to Africa?"

"How did she know?"

"That's irrelavent! Why are you leaving?"

"I just don't love you anymore Frank."

Mackenzie pulled her pillow over her head. She hated her dreams. Why did they always come true?

"I told you she doesn't love you anymore papa."

* * *

"Hey Matthew, who are those flowers for?" His mother stood in the kitchen washing up plates.

"They're for great aunt Delilah. She loves daisies." Matthew picked a few more and then tied them with a piece of ribbon he stole from Emily. His mother stared at him.

"Are you going to visit that graveyard again? I told you it's bad luck to go there darling." Matthew grinned at her and started for the garden gate.

"Don't worry. Grandpa's coming with me," Matthew looked up to his grandpa,"Aren't you grandpa?" The man smiled and ruffled the kid's hair.

"Your granddad has been dead for 4 years Matthew. Just come inside sweetie." His mother put everything down and went to fetch him. Matthew knew he had to run. Aunt Delilah didn't like to be kept waiting.

"Don't worry mommy. I'll be fine. See you just now!" Matthew ran down the street towards the cemetery. Aunt Delilah really did like daisies and she told the most lovely stories.

* * *

"Malistaire don't do anything you might regret. Please just listen to me."

"No Ambrose. This is your fault for refusing her pass to Earth! They had the cures! Why didn't you just send her there? I know you could so don't you lie to me."

"There would have been complications Malistaire. She doesn't belong to that world. They would wonder about her. The don't believe in magic remember?"

"That doesn't matter! They could have cured her. Now she's gone!"

"Malistaire please listen. This is a great loss to everyone but-"

"Just stop Ambrose. I'm going to bring her back. Even if I have to die myself."

"Don't be unreasonable now. Any such spell was destroyed eons ago. You would be breaking the ancient law of the spiral to do such a thing."

"Get out of my way Ambrose. This is none of your business."

"Of course it's my business! Sylvia wouldn't want you to do this."

"Don't you ever say her name again. You don't understand anything. How would you know?"

"Because I knew her Malistaire."

"But I knew her better. I'm leaving." Malistaire swept out of the room.

"Please _listen _to me! Don't do anything you might regret!"

* * *

**Okay, that was just an incredibly short prologue. Now just click on to the 1st chapter. Have fun...**


	2. Torn

Emily couldn't sleep. The light was wrong, the bed too soft and her pillow too hard. Images of the day flashed through her mind as Mackenzie snored loudly next to her. The girl looked waxy and pale in the moonlight with her blue hair fanned out across the pillow. Emily sat up; frustrated with herself and lit a candle. The light flickered ominously; throwing odd shadows across the wall. She picked up her diary and the quill she had left next to it. Apparently in Wizard City they didn't use pens. She found it absolutely ridiculous. She started to write but stopped when Mackenzie's snoring sputtered off for a moment but it started up again in no time so she touched the quill to the paper and in the warm candle light logged the events of her above average day.

'Dear Diary,

Well. I honestly don't know where to begin. I'm amazed that I'm still sane after today. Everything was perfectly normal in the afternoon. It's a public holiday so we didn't have school. Mom made lemonade and we - Matthew and I of course - we're sitting on a picnic blanket and chatting. Mackenzie was over and Matthew was doing what he always does; stare at her goo-goo eyed. I secretly think she likes the attention; she's always been a show-girl in the making. Mackenzie was staying with her aunt for the next two months while her dad was in a business trip. Her aunt hates her with a passion ever since Matthew broke her Ming Dynasty vase. As I was saying there we were talking about nothing when the wind picks up. The clothes on the line looked like they were about to blow away.

"Maybe we should go inside." Mackenzie's hair was blowing all around her face like an ice storm and Matthew gritted his teeth; closing his eyes against the wind. I opened my mouth to answer but got a mouthful of sand. The wind was never like this in Bristol. I saw my mom briefly banging on the glass door as if trying to open it. I shut my eyes and pitched forward into nothingness. It was the weirdest sensation; like being wrung out and hung up on a clothes line. Next thing I know I'm in a warm room with Mackenzie on top of me and Matthew cussing somewhere I couldn't see.

A strange guy stood above me with the most ridiculous smile on his face. He looked like some wise-man character from a book. The room was maroon everywhere. Objects were floating. I saw a crystal ball on a stand like those ones fake gypsies stare into to 'read your fortune'. The man's beard was long and grey and he carried a staffy sort of thing. Mackenzie groaned and pushed herself up and blinked. I felt air being sucked back into my lungs. I was relieved to breath again. Mackenzie shook her head to get out of her stupor and screamed suddenly; alerting Matthew who shot up. His bangs were everywhere. He looked as if he had gone through a spin cycle in a washing machine.

"My hair!" I only now took a proper look at Mackenzie. Her hair was blue from root to tip. It wasn't dark blue-black like some people have, it was bright in-your-face cyan. The man smiled wider. I noticed that he didn't have normal clothes on. He was wearing dress like thing in purple with stars and moons stitched onto it.

"Side effect of the journey darling. I'm afraid I'll have to send you back to reverse the effects." Matthew still seemed disorientated but zeroed in on the man.

"Where the hell are we and what are we doing here?" Matthew always had a short temper. Matthew looked around the room as if expecting to see the picnic blanket or the jug of lemonade. The man smiled in a very creepy way.

"You are in Wizard City. Home of the great wizarding school of Ravenwood. I am it's Headmaster; Merle Ambrose. Why you are here? Well that's a long story. Would you like to sit down?" Three chairs appeared. They were plush red velvet with mahogany backs. He took a seat behind the desk that I hadn't noticed before. Mackenzie looked absolutely furious. She kept blinking as if the next time she opened her eyes we'd be back in my garden. She got off of me and took a seat. Matthew scrambled to sit on the one next to her. I blew my bangs out of my eyes and got up. I was still winded from when Mackenzie landed on me. The chair was really comfy and I immediately felt secure. Even Matthew looked less angry and he was nearly to tall for the chair back to reach his shoulders. Mackenzie still looked really pissed though. She loved her hair. There wasn't a person within 500 miles of Bristol with hair as naturally white-blonde as hers. Her hair had been envied her entire life. The man shoved a cup of tea towards me and it very nearly spilled over the porcelain teacup's edges. I took it tentatively and looked to Matthew. He refused to touch his. His arms were crossed and his eyes focused on the corner of the table. Mackenzie sipped hers carefully.

"Okay. So you were about to tell us why we're here?" He smiled that odd smile of his again.

"Well. Where should I start? A very long time ago when the worlds of the spiral were still young and Bartleby still had the eye of the past the book of secrets was being written. In it there was a prophecy. This is how it goes." He picked up a book and adjusted his glasses before starting in a solemn tone of voice.

When the girl is gone,

And the man grieves still,

Evil will come for all.

But two will be

of bloodline the same

the saviors of life as we know it,

Or the the help of good's final fall.

He took off his glasses and stared at Matthew and I. Matthew looked like he was about to start shouting but I put a hand over his to stop him. He stared at me with hard eyes but settled back into his chair. The headmaster sighed and lowered his head.

"You two are only one of many sets of twins from around the spiral that I have picked out. Every other pair failed at seemingly the most minor task or crumbled when the pressure became too much. But I found you. On a world so distant; one that doesn't even believe in magic. I can sense it though. You two are powerful. But you will need training. A lot of training. Your friend will be sent back to Earth but I will have to wipe her memory of this place." He pushed up his sleeves and looked as if he was about to do some voodoo type thing.

"What? No! I am not leaving my best friend here! Don't be ridiculous." Mackenzie threw down her cup of tea but it dissipated before hitting the ground. She didn't seem to notice.

"You were never supposed to be here in the first place. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"I won't leave them! I'd never leave them." Mackenzie got up from her chair and looked like she was about to punch the man in the face. Matthew let go all of his anger.

"You don't have to. We're all going back home. This is ridiculous! What will our mother think when she sees laundry strewn across the lawn and all three of us missing? We have exams in two weeks! I don't know what game you're playing at but we aren't going to play along. This is utter madness," Matthew started to get up but I pushed him down.

"No. Don't you get it Matthew? This is what the dreams were about!" I had been having strange dreams for months. Monsters and odd people. And running; always running. Matthew looked at me from under his bangs and frowned. He and I often shared dreams so he knew exactly what I was talking about. I woke up screaming silently for months and sat staring at the sky till morning every time. Last night was the first night of proper sleep I'd had in weeks. Matthew looked like he was going through an internal battle. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. I could tell he still wasn't so sure. He looked at my solid expression and seemed to relent.

"Fine. We'll stay and check this place out okay? But if this is too much we are going home. And Mackenzie can stay if she wants to. Do we have a deal?" Matthew rubbed his temples. Ambrose nodded.

"Lovely. Now we should go and take care of your registration. Follow me!" The chairs disappeared and we all landed on our asses. Matthew grumbled to himself and followed the guy through a set of doors. Mackenzie ran her fingers through her hair and smiled sadly. I offered her a hand and pulled her up.

"Emily? Do you think we're ever going home?" I shook my head.

"Not for a long time at least."

* * *

"Please be careful. People will stare at you because of your clothing. Don't worry; once you have a school of study and have been registered you will be given some robes. All food will be provided as long as you're in the city. You will get a stipend of 100 gold coins." The streets were colourful and bright. The people were dressed very oddly. All in long colourful robes and hats. Many had wands and staffs. One was riding a dragon. He led us towards a tunnel that was very poorly lit. Mackenzie pointed out the fairgrounds and the bright balls of light floating through the air.

"Do you think I'm dreaming? I mean it's a more logical explanation that what that lunatic said." I frowned at Matthew.

"You really think you're dreaming?"

"Yeah. I mean this place seems like the same place I've been having nightmares about for months so it's a plausible theory."

"Shut up Matthew. Let's just see what happens. It's not like we can get home ourselves can we?" He shut up.

"Where do you think we're going?" Matthew whispered. People were staring at us. Many craned their necks to get a good look at the weird people.

"Can't you read?" I pointed to the sign above the dark tunnel entrance. 'Golem Court'.

"Great..." He muttered. We were swallowed in darkness.

Next thing I knew there was warm afternoon sunlight in my eyes. A huge tower made of white stone rose up in front of us. Headmaster Ambrose walked forward towards an owl sitting on a perch. He had glasses just like the professor and a graduation cap on his head.

"Hello Gamma. These are the children I told you about. Where is Mr. Lincoln? They need to register." The owl cocked his head.

"Threee? Twooo."

"Yes Gamma. There are now three of them. Don't you worry about that though." There was a crashing noise and I looked up to the highest room of the tower. A shadow went past it. The sky darkened with rain clouds and it began to rather suddenly rain. Strangely enough I stayed bone dry. Matthew and Mackenzie were soaked in a matter of seconds. The headmaster was also dry. He stroked his beard.

"Hmm. How odd. Follow me children." Ambrose walked forward and straight through the door. Matthew raised an eyebrow.

"Well. I guess it's ladies first." I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Coward." He always did ish like this. Mackenzie hadn't said anything in a while.

"Oh both of you be quiet. I'll go first." Mackenzie pushed past us and walked through the door with her head held high. Her hair looked like a waterfall with the water dripping from it. I followed her. It felt weird to walk through a door. The room was bathed in red light. The ceiling was high and book shelves lined the walls. Ambrose was busy having an argument with a man in black. Dragon-like creatures stood on either side of him.

"What do you think those things are?" Mackenzie pushed back her dripping bangs. The man turned and regarded us with a sneer. His eyes were ominously dark. Mackenzie froze up. Her eyes became glassy. I recognized this. She was having an episode. How had that guy triggered it? He swept his cold gaze across Matthew and I.

"So. These are your newest victims Ambrose? What a shame. Didn't you tell them what happened to the last ones?" He smiled menacingly. Matthew spun towards the Headmaster.

"What does he mean? Is there something you aren't telling us?" Ambrose was about to answer when the bad guy cut in.

"Why Ambrose! That isn't very fair! I'll tell you since I seem to be the only honest man in this room. They died. Horrible tragedy really. Didn't deserve to die. Oh well," he turned to the dragon people and said flippantly,"Kill them." The creatures advanced. Matthew stepped protectively in front of Mackenzie.

"Go up and fight them!" Ambrose was insane. It was my turn to be angry. What was this guy on? He was obviously off his rocker. Fighting those things would be a suicide attempt.

"What? Why! All you've done so far is nearly get us killed! If we try we _will_ die. No doubt about it."

"If you don't you will die too. At least if you battle them you have a slight chance of winning." Mackenzie nodded. She seemed to have come back to reality but her voice was very soft.

"I have a feeling he's right." I turned to her. Mackenzie always had this strange thing where she could tell how things were going to end. When we were younger I used to joke that she could become a fortune-teller. She looked completely serious.

"Okay. Just tell me how we're supposed to defeat these things without killing ourselves in the process?" Mackenzie walked forward and stood on the wooden circle in the middle of the room. The dragon things walked forward and under their feet a circle appeared. I had seen it before. It looked like a witch's circle. I didn't want to get involved but I couldn't very well leaved Mackenzie in there alone. Matthew and I followed. I took a deep breath and felt like ice was filling my lungs. It was colder here and I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck prickling. _Hello Emily. I do hope you haven't forgotten me. _I spun looking for the source of the voice. Realising that I was just talking to myself I b=went back to concentrating on what was currently happening.

"Well don't just stand there! Cast a spell!" Ambrose stood just outside the circle waving his arms about.

"Excuse me? Have you neglected to remember that we don't know any spells?" Mackenzie was still staring at that weird guy in black for some reason.

"Well here you go then." He threw something at me. They looked like playing cards. I had a bad feeling I wouldn't catch them. I guess I was right because they fizzled when them came near me. I heard a niggling voice in the back of my head whispering words to me. Matthew moved first; drawing a random symbol in the air. The symbol was beautiful and glowed really brightly. The next moment a tiger-like creature appeared before us; attacking the monster. It grunted and started drawing in the air too. A giant scorpion lunged at Matthew and struck him in the side with it's sting; knocking him to the ground. He looked pale and sick. He clutched at his side and stood up. He wiped his mouth as he had attained a split lip. I had a feeling that he was poisoned. the colour was draining out of his face. I heard a very clear instruction sound in my head and started to paint a symbol in the air. A troll materialized on the swirling cloud in front of us and scratched his head. It caught sight of the Draconian. For some reason I now knew what those creatures were. With a slam the troll's spiked covered club crashed into the creature's side. It seemed to do little more than annoy the thing.

The other one muttered something unintelligible and suddenly the storm swirl in the middle of the circle became water. Out of it rose an island of sand with the a single palm tree. There was a skeleton propped up against the palm tree. It held a cutlass in it's - fingers? - hand. It got up slowly and stared at me. In a move too quick for me to catch and I had a sword in my thigh. It dematerializes in a second but the pain is overwhelming. The wound is long and deep and the blood just keeps dripping. I don't have the power to stand anymore. Matthew's eyes burn in hatred for the creatures in front of us. I know that look so well. _He's going to do something stupid. _I didn't know what to do. Only that I had to staunch the blood flow somehow. I pulled off my waist coat with shaky fingers and wrapped my leg above the wound. It didn't seem to make any difference. Mackenzie hadn't done anything yet. She just stood there. The one I had annoyed sent a phoenix towards Mackenzie. It was a gorgeous creature; flaming from beak to claw. It swept downwards in an arc of light and went straight through Mackenzie. She put up her hands to stop it but it just went right through her before disappearing. She looked at her hands. There wasn't a hair on her head that was burnt but her clothes were steaming. Her hair started to puff up like a cat with it's fur on end. She smiled dangerously and spoke for herself. Her voice was clear and loud but I couldn't understand the words.

In a swirl of green leaves and fresh air a unicorn stepped into the circle. It bowed to Mackenzie and she curtsied to it. Mackenzie's hair became straight and her cuts and bruised vanished. The unicorn bowed to each of us in turn. Matthew's split lip healed right up and the colour returned to his pallid face. The wound on my leg knitted itself together until all that was left was a strip of scar tissue. The pain was gone. I pushed myself up. The man screamed at the Draconians and they cowered from him. I could understand why. He radiated power. The one to the right (I think I'll call him Berty) cast another spell at Mackenzie. Nothing happened but a disk appeared and revolved around her head. The other one (Bobby) summoned a Minotaur that pointed it's axe at Matthew before hitting the ground with such force that it split. The shrapnel struck Matthew hard and he faltered. Mackenzie threw up a spell and giant tree golem (Golem? Is that what they're called?) grew from the ground and hurled a rock at Berty. Just as it did the disk burst in a shower of white-hot sparks. The rock slammed into Berty but all he got was a couple of scratches. I didn't understand. How were they doing us so much damage while they were barely hurt? I realised we needed something powerful. They _were_ hurt; they just didn't show it as much as we did. What had that shield done? It had taken some of Mackenzie's spell's power away so that it didn't affect them as much. So we just had to do the same thing. Or boost ourselves. I looked at Matthew and he seemed to have the same train of thought as I did. He drew a set of scales in the air and a disk appeared; floating around my head. Mackenzie smiled at me.

Bobby sent out a centaur. It notched a single arrow. The world was suddenly in slow motion as the arrow sliced through the air. It was ornate with very over-the-top details. The motion was so slow but I couldn't move. It was if I was stuck in time. It sped up suddenly and in a split-second was lodged in my shoulder. The pain was worse than my leg. I had the feeling it struck bone. It reminded me of stubbing my toe. That sharp burst of pain you get that seems so much worse because it's concentrated. The force of it made me swivel backwards. I heaved in a breath. It was really painful to breath. I could barely focus on the battle. Mackenzie was shouting something at me but her voice sounded fuzzy. I turned to look and saw a flash of swords. Matthew gasped. My eyes regained focus again for a moment and I noticed the longs gashes along his back. It made me see red and for a moment the pain in my shoulder disappeared. The voice in my head screamed at me and I shouted at the top of my lungs. The space above us opened up in a gasp of air. It felt like all the air in my lungs was being sucked out but I smiled hysterically. Meteors slammed downwards and smashed Berty and Bobby into the ground. The man in black screamed no. I swayed and fell over but Matthew caught me. He gritted his teeth and I knew he was dealing with a lot of pain himself. Mackenzie moved her hands over his back and his expression relaxed. Mackenzie knelt at my side and grinned. I probably looked awful but at that moment I couldn't care less. I looked towards the other people in the room.

"I have what I came for." The man disappeared in a shower of sparks. Ambrose turned to us. He regarded Mackenzie intently.

"Well, I'm glad I didn't send you back. No contest about which school of magic you should train in. You two though. Well we will see. Get up and let's get going. Evil waits for no wizard." Ambrose swept out of the door. I couldn't believe it.

"He drags us into a near death situation and then has the audacity to say that. I swear that if I could I would punch him." I tried to sit up but the pain flared in my shoulder. Mackenzie shushed me and pressed her hand over the wound. I felt ice spread through the veins in that area and as it melted I could no longer feel the pain. The blood was still there but all my little cuts were gone.

"How do you do that?" Matthew stared at Mackenzie dumbfounded.

"How did we just battle those things back there? I don't know. We just did." She got up and offered me a hand. I took it and she pulled me up. The door to the tower was still closed.

"I guess we walk through the door again."

* * *

Ambrose was standing next to a stork.

"Well things can't get any weirder." Mackenzie sounded exasperated.

"Don't say things like that. Just now we'll see talking trash cans." I slowed down.

"Who was that guy? And what did he mean he 'got what he came for'? Sounds pretty ominous to me." Mackenzie turned to me.

"He's Malistaire. He's the guy from the prophecy." Matthew blinked.

"Wait, how did you know that?" Mackenzie shrugged.

"I just did. I just know." We caught up to the headmaster.

"Names?" The stork lifted his quill and peered at me over the rim of his glasses.

"Um, Emily?" _Don't you know your own name genius? _I told myself to shut up.

"Emily what?"

"Greengrove."

"Uh huh. And you boy?" He jabbed Matthew with the quill. Matthew had gone off into dreamland.

"What? Me? I'm, uh, Matthew, um, Greengrove." The stork harrumphed and wrote that down in his not-so-little book. He turned to Mackenzie and regarded her with a frown on his face.

"Mackenzie; Mackenzie Griffiths." He looked to Ambrose who gave a small nod. The bird wrote her name down presumably.

"Come now. We must get you some new clothes and get you registered for classes." I understood the new clothes comment. My waist coat was soaked in blood. Matthew's shirt was torn pretty badly at the back. We walked back to the Commons and towards a brand new tunnel. This one opened up quickly into a very interesting place. There were an assortment of trees and building on a curved street. People were milling about with books and such. No-one payed us any attention which I was slightly grateful for. Ambrose led us to a large house. He opened the door and shoved Matthew inside. He stumbled and nearly landed flat on his face.

"Well you go on and get dressed boy. Meet me out here in 15 minutes. There should be robes in the cupboard." He closed the door. He opened it again a second later and shoved Mackenzie through along with me, "15 minutes!" The door slammed behind us. I looked up. More vaulted ceilings then. Mackenzie flopped onto the bed. She looked exhausted.

"What do you think your parents will say?" Her voice was muffled by the pillow.

"I don't know. I think my mom saw us being swept away. I hope they don't worry too much. Oh god, what am I saying? Of course they're going to worry!" I started pacing. Panicking was one of my strengths.

"Oh for goodness sake! Stop that!" She flipped herself over and put her hands behind her head to stare at the ceiling.

"Well what about you? Won't your parents notice you missing?" Mackenzie scoffed.

"You know very well that my mother is busy feeding children in Africa and my dad is on a business trip to London for the next two months. That's why I'm staying with my aunt remember? And don't even bother asking about her. She hates me. I broke her Ming Dynasty vase remember?" I huffed.

"Technically that was my idiot brother but whatever. Doesn't really make a difference now does it?" Mackenzie didn't say anything,"Come on; let's check out these robes."

* * *

"I look ridiculous." Mackenzie turned to me and smiled.

"No you don't. I think you look positively beautiful! You just need the right pointy hat. Hmm. I like this one." She put a gold brimmed hat on my head. It matched my outfit of purple and gold.

"I guess that's okay." She looked great in silver and blue. I tied my hair up into a pony tail but she kept hers loose. It felt weird to be wearing new clothes instead of the tried an true things I had grown up in. Mackenzie posed in the mirror and smiled.

"Come on then. Let's start classes!" I reluctantly followed her outside. Matthew was there already. He was in black and white from head to toe. I noticed one detail. He wasn't wearing a hat.

"And why are you exempt from wearing a hat?" He shrugged.

"I looked ridiculous so I took it off. Simple." I felt like slapping him. Ambrose apeared in a cloud of dust. Why couldn't people here just walk?

"You're ready? Perfect. Now Mackenzie I'm fairly sure I know which school you'll be enrolling in. Would you please go talk to Miss Moolinda Wu in the School of Life? Emily? You're a bit trickier. Fire maybe? Storm perhaps? Talk to these two professors." He handed me a piece of paper with names and symbols on them. He directed Matthew down the lane of sorts. I looked up and realised that I couldn't see the sky. Everything above me was green.

"Well I guess I should get going." I walked towards my first stop. The school of fire.

"Knock knock. Can I come in?" I pushed open the door to be greeted with a woman made of fire sitting on a desk. It amazed me that the thing wasn't burnt yet. _Greet her dumbass._

"Um, I'm Emily? Are you-"

"Madame Falmea? Yes I am. You are the Greengrove girl I presume? Yes, yes; Merle told me all about you. Come and take a seat." I half expected her to conjure a seat like Ambrose had done but that voice in my head told me to just sit at a desk.

"So I was wondering-"

"If you had what it takes to become a Pyromancer? Well according to what Ambrose said you have a lot of potential but he does tend to over-exaggerate things a tad. Make it sound as if the building is burning when a candle's been lit." I felt offended. I was coming to plead my case; not get shouted at by someone who doesn't know me.

"He did not-"

"Oh don't be coy girl. There are a lot of students at Ravenwood who have studied and trained for a lot longer than you have. You don't deserve half the praise Ambrose gave you. If you do choose to study pyromancy then you will have to study hard. I don't like slackers." I felt like shouting my lungs out but I knew that was what she wanted. It would prove that I was childish.

"No thank you. I have other options. Besides; fire is overrated." I swept out of the room like a thunderstorm. How dare she? Who was she to call me out like that? _A Grandmaster Pyromancer. Duh. _I stopped in my tracks. Oh right she had been doing magic for years and here I was; someone who didn't even know what I was doing here receiving high praise.

"Okay Greengrove. Try not to piss off the next teacher." I pushed open the door.

"Hello? I'm Emily. I've come to see Professor Baelstrom." The room was a bit dark and smelt like rain.

"Hello Emily! I am Professor Baelstrom, the resident Storm professor. Come and take a seat." I felt like cursing Mackenzie for saying things couldn't get any weirder. Standing in front of me was a frog in a purple coat. He had a little hat and everything. He seemed a lot more cheery than Madame Falmea. I sat down and kept my mouth shut.

"Well then Emily. What brings you to Storm? Diviners tend to be the most powerful wizards in a group. It isn't always the case but it is 9 times out of 10. Learning how to improve your accuracy and endurance can be tough but the power is unbelievable." I couldn't tell if he was sugar-coating stuff but he sounded pretty serious. I thought about it. The classroom was draped in purple and gold. I realised that I had unintentionally picked my school's colours. What was I doing here? I'm not a character from some book? Then I thought of the possibilities.

"Well it sounds like a sweet deal. I think this is my school Professor." I held out my hand and he shook it.

"Lovely. Now if you could sign this," He passed me a clipboard. I signed my name in the space provided,"Now here is your spell book. And I'm sure I have a beginner's wand around here somewhere." He rummaged around behind his desk for a moment before holding up a weird _thing. _I think it was my wand.

"Thank you. When do classes start?" I got up and carefully balanced the heavy book.

"Tomorrow at 9 o'clock sharp so don't be late." I smiled. I should have visited him first.

"I won't be!" I carried the wand and book back outside. At least my professor was okay. I spied Mackenzie with Matthew talking to some boy over by a lookout point.

"Hey Matthew! Mackenzie!" I ran towards them but stopped abruptly when I saw the lookout point. It was nothing but floating rubble. Mackenzie spun around.

"Hey Emily. Did you know my professor is a cow?" She smiled weirdly. Her eyebrows were going all over the place.

"Yeah. And mine's a frog."

"I'm serious. Don't be so skeptical." Her eyebrows stopped moving and she pouted.

"I also happen to be serious. What happened here?" The boy they were talking to piped up.

"Professor Malistaire took the whole building with him when he left Ravenwood. I'm the new professor. Whom Matthew just happens to be studying under." I took a good look at him. He didn't look much like a teacher.

"Exactly how old are you?"

"19, why?" He sounded suspicious.

"Bit young to be teaching hey?" _Stop giving yourself a bad reputation._ I looked around but then realised I was talking to myself. I probably looked crazy,"Sorry. I didn't mean to offend." He smirked.

"Offend me? Never. You're feisty and I like that." Matthew laughed at my blush.

"C'mon Emily. It's getting dark. Time for us to go and get ready for bed." I was so confused.

"What? It's only 18:00." Mackenzie hooked her arm in mine and pushed me forward.

"Bye boys!"

"What was that all about?" Mackenzie looked at me like I was a lost puppy.

"Why are you always so clueless?"

"What do you mean by clueless?" I pouted. She rolled her eyes at me.

"Nevermind. Besides; It's actually 19:00. And I have an early morning tomorrow. My class starts at 7:00. Malorn said that food is delivered directly to our dorms and I am starving." My stomach agreed with the 'starving' statement.

"Wait, whose Malorn?"

"Matthew's professor, duh! Professor Malorn Ashthorn."

"Oh. The guy who called me feisty." She laughed.

"Yes, the guy who called you feisty." She steered me to the dormitory door and opened it. There were two trays on the desk.

"Ooh, food." Mackenzie dash across the room.

"Yum, Mac 'n Cheese. Just like your mum makes." She grabbed a tray and sat on the bed before digging in. I tried a forkful and it did taste just like mom's. It made me very nostalgic for my familiar boy band posters and pink bedspread at home. This place was so amazing I had almost forgotten about my real home. I felt so guilty. But I enjoyed the food and Mackenzie immediately tucked herself in for the night. The trays vanished when we were done.

"G' night Emily." She yawned. I blew out the last candle and climbed in beside her.

"Night Mackenzie." I lay there just staring at the ceiling for ages. I was pleasantly surprised to find you diary; in the box of things from home that we had found in the cupboard. I wonder if Matthew got his guitar. Mackenzie had her ancient koala teddy bear. Well I guess I had better close you up now. I also have class tomorrow.

Signing off,

Emily.'

Emily put the diary down and snuffed out the candle. She stared at the stained glass window and wondered if Matthew was staring at the same one. She was afraid that here the nightmares would be worse. Well she had to sleep one way or another. She would just have to take a chance. She curled into a ball and tried to get comfortable. Would her parents go looking for them? She hoped that they wouldn't worry too much. Maybe Headmaster Ambrose would allow them to send a letter of assurance back home. She wished she could hug her dad. A tear slid down her cheek.

"Goodnight mom. Goodnight dad."


End file.
